under the obama administration. they seem to be the main weapon of the united states against al qaeda and its affiliates in pakistan. we argue that drones have been effective, according to data. somewhere between 1597 have been killed by drones since 2004. this includes some of al qaeda's top leaders and foot soldiers. on the other hand, there has been what has been euphemistically called collateral damage. in 2004, the non militant casualty wait -- rate has been 16%. the non militant death rate has fallen dramatically since 2004. it remains a highly sensitive issue. there are many controversies surrounding the drone campaign. the first is the morality of the strikes, especially concerning non-militant deaths. second, the question is raised, is the united states making more enemies out of the civilian population than would otherwise be the case? third, the legality of the drug operations themselves. fourth, what about the sovereignty issue? they presumably have the acquiescence of the governments of the countries wh